Gov. Rick Perry said again Friday that he opposes expansion of Medicaid to more poor Texans.

Perry would outline no plan beyond his support for a federal “block grant” that would allow Texas to use the money as it sees fit.

Federal officials said Thursday such grants are not an option under President Barack Obama.

On Friday, Perry spoke in Washington to the Texas State Society, where he was repeatedly disrupted by protesters who heckled him about his stance on Medicaid.

Perry's speech to the nonpartisan group was interrupted four times by the protesters from Houston who were led from the meeting room at the Republican Party's Capitol Hill Club.

The ejected demonstrators were cheered by a group of protesters who chanted anti-Perry slogans for nearly an hour. They carried signs including one that declared, “Rick, Rick, you makes us sick,” “You'll Never be POTUS” and “Expand Medicaid.”

Perry said he can't support expansion because Medicaid is “a broken system. It's moving our state, and I'll just speak to our state, towards bankruptcy if we expand the current program.”

Josh Havens, a spokesman for Perry, said earlier that Texas, not Washington, “knows how best to care for Texans. ... Texas should be able to implement policy and practices without having to ask for the federal government's approval every time. That's what we mean by flexibility.”

Medicaid expansion would add 1.8 million people to the program in Texas, provide $100 billion in federal funding over 10 years and require the state to put up $15.5 billion in that time, most of it in the latter part of the decade. Texas already spends a quarter of its budget on Medicaid, which now enrolls 3.5 million people.

Texas is now the only one of the nation's five most populous states rejecting the expansion.

On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, an ally of Perry's in opposing Obama's health care plan, said he favors the expansion, a reversal that created a buzz in the Texas Legislature, according to a number of members.

Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said she even heard leaders indicate there may be “some momentum to go ahead and change minds” and get more support for the program. However, she said, after Perry repeated his opposition, she lost heart.

“I don't see how we can do it without him,” said Zaffirini. “He's the kingpin on this.”

Peggy Fikac contributed from Austin and Joanna Raines from Washington.